Tuesday 7 April 2015

Such a Pretty Pair

Good morning from a very sunny Suffolk!  It’s just beautiful out there this morning; spring has definitely sprung.  I hope those of you who celebrated had a wonderful Easter.  Ours was spent at home with family where everyone (bar the vegetarians!) stuffed themselves silly on roast lamb with all the trimmings, followed by lemon cheesecake and then Easter eggs; perfick!  

Although it is still school holidays, the Mr has gone in for today to do extra work with some of the students, so my girls and I have a busy day of gardening planned, and then a trip to the cinema to see Cinderella this evening, I’ve heard great things about the costumes so can’t wait to see it!  Before I get planting, I’ve managed to grab half an hour to myself, while the girls are digging for worms, to share with you two rather pretty woollies that have found a new home overseas.

The pretty pair was commissioned by a thoroughly charming lady in New Zealand.  She chose gorgeous patterns and opted for two seriously scrumptious shades of wool and I truly enjoyed working with her to create her vintage inspired pieces.

First up is a pattern that you may have seen before on my blog as I knitted it back in 2014.  It’s a Bestway pattern from the very early 1940’s and is for a close fitting jumper with a neat little collar in a mock smock design; try saying that after you've had a tipple or two!


It was knitted in King Cole Merino Blend 4 ply in a shade called fern.  I’ve used King Cole in the past and haven’t been overly impressed with the quality, especially their big value range, but I was pleasantly surprised with the Merino Blend and it was beautiful to work with.  The colour range is great, the wool doesn’t split, and it is so super soft to the touch, and not at all itchy.


When this one is knitted, the pattern doesn’t really show.  The pieces come out really rather small and it isn’t until you block and press it that the design can be seen in all its glory. 



Wool - King Cole Merino Blend 4 Ply
Weight used - 240g
Time taken - 79 days
Size - 32" bust

The second was knitted from a pattern from the Wearing History range, which I bought on Etsy.  Called Wood Violet, the pattern has been reformatted from the original and all the instructions have been retyped into 1 neat A4 page.


This one was knitted in the King Cole Merino Blend 4 ply as well, but this time in a gorgeous shade called damson.  I’m a little bit in love with this shade.  It is so divine, a real rich purple with a beautiful depth of colour.  For some reason, King Cole has apparently done away with this shade, so if you like it and see it anywhere, snap it up quickly, because you may not get another chance.  I have added a few balls to my stash for future use!!




The main body of this jumper was worked in stocking stitch, so knitted up super quickly, but the yoke was an entirely different affair!  I like to be honest when I’ve had problems with patterns, and I have to admit that this one reduced me to tears of sheer frustration! 

A fellow blogger said, when I asked for her help in working out the pattern, that the instructions were like an algebra equation!  I got in a pickle when the pattern said “p1, 0, p1…….p two 0’s together” because nowhere in the pattern did it tell me what “0” actually was!  By a process of trial and error, I got there in the end and my finished yoke looked like the picture on the pattern, so I was happy with the end result.



Unable to find vintage buttons in the exact shade of purple, I opted for original 1940’s buttons in black.



Wool - King Cole Merino Blend 4 Ply
Weight used - 220g
Time taken -
Size - 32" bust

I posted the jumpers off just 11 days ago, and by the powers of tracked and signed for delivery (it’s always worth paying the extra postage), the woollies have been safely received by their new owner who, thankfully, is over the moon with them. 

If you fancy giving either of the patterns a go yourself, they are both for sale on Etsy.  The Bestway pattern can be found in my Etsy shop here, and the Wearing History pattern can be found here.

xx

20 comments:

  1. When I worked in a craft shop we used to sell a lot of the King Cole Merino Blend 4 ply everyone loved it who knitted.
    Did you get my email before Easter.....?
    Julie xxxx

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    1. I genuinely loved working with the King Cole, and will definitely use it again. Email received and replied to :o) xxxx

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  2. I forgot to say how absolutely gorgeous those jumpers are. I love the colours on both
    Julie xxx

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  3. Oh I love these jumpers Lucy & such pretty colours too. There's me looking at the photos & thinking I might be able to do the damson jumper but then after reading your words maybe not. I am a beginner really & just learning as I go along. I am pleased with myself though as I am just finishing sewing up my first long sleeved 40's jumper, a month to make too which I thought would take me ages.
    Thank you for all your help & advice on home schooling.
    Enjoy this beautiful day, we have sunshine too & enjoy the film.
    Fondly Michelle

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    1. Hello Michelle, I'd love to see your jumper. Is it on your blog? A month on your first long sleeved item is great going! No problem with the help, always feel free to ask. Film was brilliant, thank you.
      Best wishes
      Lucy
      xx

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  4. Love those shades of wool - very heathery!
    Liz @ Shortbread & Ginger

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    1. I thought that too, Liz. The colours go so well together that I think they'd look great in a two coloured jumper.

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  5. Lovely jumpers :) I am seriously curious about the pattern description for the damson jumper. What did 0 mean?

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    1. Thank you, Suna. The 0 in the pattern meant make 1, but it was so unclear! Trial and error got me there in the end :o)

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    2. Ah! Worth taking note of! I even googled it, but the things that popped up didn't make sense at all. I imagine you did the same, no wonder you were frustrated.

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  6. Both jumpers are wonderful! Such lovely colors.

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  7. Those jumpers are lovely and so beautifully knitted. I too am curious as to what the '0' meant. The yoke on the damson piece is very eye catching.

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    1. Thank you, Sherri. The "0" meant make one, but I'd never come across it being written down that way. I got there in the end though :o)

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  8. Super knits! I especially LOVE the Damson colour. Creative Blessings, Tracy x

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    1. Thank you, Tracy. The damson really is gorgeous, very much a new favourite shade :o)

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  9. These are smashing Lucy! I'm going to check out that yarn. I was interested to see the first one took 79 days to knit! I've been timing myself knitting the Victory jumper, that way if anyone asks me to make them one I can tell them how long it took! It is taking longer as I'm re sizing as I go so lots of maths going on xx

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  10. Those jumpers are so unusual and just fabulous. How lovely to have something so different. I especially liked the damson one but both are beautiful. I've loved reading your blog. :)

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  11. Very lovely knits and the colours are great. Interesting to know your thoughts on the yarn, a merino blend that knits up nicely, isn't itchy and isn't too costly is worth knowing about. It is so frustrating to get to a seemingly unfathomable pat of a pattern, I feel your pain!

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  12. where can i find these patterns?

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